CUBA: Evolution of a Dictator

When the polls opened at 7 a.m., no one in Cuba
or outside believed that this would be more than a rubber-stamp
election. The Government candidates had everything. They were backed by
President Fulgencio Batista, Cuba's boss for more than a decade, by the
Army, the public job holders and their families, by a juicy campaign
fund. Wiseacres put their money (wagers ran as high as $100,000) on the
Government ticket to win, one way or another.

But Fulgencio Batista, who had come up from rags to the riches of the
Presidential Palace, astonished everybody, apparently including
himself. The Army...